Furniture



Dec. 29,1925v G. H. ABBOTT FURNITURE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. '7, 1924 @ffA G. H. ABBOTT Dec. 29, 1925 FURNITUREY Filed Jan. '7, 1924 2 Sheets-$11661I 2 Patented Dec. 29, 1925. r

.PAT-:ENT l.or-FICE. g

LG'EOBGE'-H. ABBOTT, kQF lEIGIN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WOODRUFF &.EDWARDS CO.

- QF ELGIN, ILLINQS, A GQRQRATION .0F ILLINOIS.

:FURNITURE To all whom z'tmayoncem:

Be it known that I, GnoReEH. Ano'rr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elgin, in the county of Kane and kState of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements' in Furniture, of which the following is .a/speciication.

This invention which relates generally'to furniturehas particular` reference to school desks and seats of the `kind which use a standard in pedestal fornnthe purpose being to provide a serviceable, ornamental, and dependable device of this character on which may be mounted for plus and minus vertical adjustments a seat, as well as a desk, :many of the parts being interchangeably constructed. Y

In many respects the construction herein described is rsimilar ytothat set forth in a pending application of Alfred D. Edwards and myself, filed July 29 1922, as Serial No. 578,483; the present invention, lli-ow-v ever, is possessed of certain improvements iand special lfeatures of construction to which detailed reference vwill hereinafter be vmade.

An exemplification of this invention is ,setforth in vthe accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure -l is a sideview, partly in elevation and partly 'in section, ofthe standard, ltogether i with seat and desk brackets mounted thereon,

Fig. Qis atransverse sectiontherethrough takenapproximately on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 43 is an elevation of oneend ofthe standard, thebrackets being removed therefrom; v

F ig. 4 is a ,perspective view of the nut `which forms one component of they adjustable connection between vthe standard and one ofthe brackets associated therewith;

Fig. 5 is ar4 view Iin elevation of the bracket end which engages the standard;

E ig. y6 is a viewin perspective looking toward the rear side of the ,rack bar which comprises I@Ile element in Athe bracket adjusting means; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged ,fragmentary detail in `perspective of the standard end adjacent thelower extremity of one slot therein.

The maior elements of this invention comprise a ,standard orsupport inthe form n of a pedesta'ljfft on which are mounted seat iixture per se.

.Application led January A7, 1924. Seria1 No. `684,707.

It is contemplated that suitable seatrand desk fixtures v(not shown) will be secured to the brackets when thefurnitureis Lready for use. As shown, ,the cross sectionalv contour of the walls forming the standard is elliptical with itsilong axis extending"r from front to rear, .and from the lower ,standard end, which is flared outwardly to provide a base 10,'these wallstaper inwardly'toward 4the `upper-end which may-be closed by a top or cross wall 11. A'vertically extendlng slot 12 is formed in the front wall o'f the pedestal, as is also .asimilar slot (not shown) in its rearwvall, these two slots extending for a substantial distance in lthe middle region ofthestandard. The general construction of the Vstandard and fits `two brackets as described above forms no part of this .invention but is madethe subject of thepending application above referred The seat bracket may be formed from:an

integral casting, or "from companion castings, or otherwise, and 'is suitably configured on its top for the support lofthe seat The walls ofzthis bracket are extended downwardly therefrom and rearwardly towardthe tapering front side of the pedestal. The bracket sides v1'3,two in number, each extend toward the pedestal and provide between them an open space such that their rearward edges 14 are adapted to engage with the standard atrelatively separated points. I prefer to 'form each ofthese rearward edges with a pair of bearing points '15 disposed, `by preference, adjacent opposite ends of these edges, thus providing a total of four vbearing points upon the rearvmrdA edges 14: of the bracket. It yis also preferred thatthe standard walls be provided with four elongated .engagement with the standard at four delinite points, such as .to be. IVguided and held properly in any ofthe positions wherein n shown as adjacent each rearward bearing point 15. `With such a construction, the bracket may engage the standard at four points intermediately of the shoulders 16 to thereby maintain a firm contact with the standard. Since it is customary vto produce both the standard and brackets from unfinished cast metal, the resulting uneven surfaces will tend to prevent a smooth seating of the brackets upon the standard, but by providing a few raised points of contact arranged in a definite relation, a more satisfactory mounting of the brackets upon the standard may be effected.

The preceding description which has been confined almost wholly to the seat bracket B applies equally to the desk bracket C, which in all substantial respects is identical therewith.

For securing each bracket upon the pedestal in any desired position of adjustment, I provide means as follows: A bolt i() is inserted through a suitable lateral opening 21 fo 1med in the front bracket wall which may, if desired, be thickened at that point for additional strength. The bolt head 22 is shown as rested against a washer 23 which may be positioned within a. suitable seat therefor. It is preferred that the opening 2l should be slightly elongated in a vertical direction, as indicated in Fig. 5, for purposes which will be presently eX- plained. The bolt shank is screw-threaded to engage with a nut 2a from which are extended inA spaced relation two arms 25 connecting with an enlarged head 26. A nut of this description is adapted for association with the slot l2 of the standard, its two arms being receivable therewithin so as to present the head 26 against the inner face of its walls. The nut in its entirety is accordingly secured both against rotation and end thrusts when the bolt is tightened against the bracket.

I provide means for raising and lowering the bracket upon the standard which may embody the following construction. Through the front bracket wall, preferably above the opening 2l therein, is a second opening 30 tapering outwardly from front to rear. Inserted into this opening, from the rear end thereof, is a rotatable member 3l having at its outer end a polygonal formation 32 for convenient engagement by a wrench. Art its enlarged inner end is a head 33 provided with a spiral rib 34- constituting a worm. rlhe axis of rotation of the member 3l is obliquely disposed in relation to an adjacent rack bar 35 whereon are formed teeth adapted to be engaged by the spiral rib at one point in its periphery. This rack bar which extends lengthwise of the slot l2 and through the space between the nut arms 25 may be .secured in place within suitable .seats 36 formed in the standard wall adjacent each slot end, the bar extremities being provided with centering elements 3T adapted to rest in such seats and also, if desired, with faces 38 which bear upon the standard walls (see Fig. 6).

Referring now to Figs. l and 4, the nut is shown as provided at its outer end with an upstanding lip 40 adapted to be slidingly received within a recess in the bracket wall and to engage with a lug 41 depending downwardly therefrom. The lip and lug constitute, in effect, a hook by which the bracket is supported on the nut independently of the bolt 20. This is of advantage during the operation of assembling the parts which enter into the construction heretofore described, prior to applying the bolt ./20 to the nut. To provide for the assembly within the bracket opening 2l of a nut so formed, this opening is elongated vertically, as already stated, to permit the nut to be moved laterally as required, )rior to tightening of the bolt therewithin.

It should be manifest that in the present structure I provide for a dual support of.

each bracket, namely, the clamping pressure exerted by the bolt 2O upon the nut 24, and the engagement of the spiral rib fielwithin the teeth of the rack bar. To effect a change in position of the bracket, the bolt is first loosened following which a wrench is applied to turn the member 3l so as to raise or lower the bracket. I/Vhen the bracket has been brought to the desired position, the nut 2() is again tightened with the result that the relationship of the parts becomes permanent.

The parts just described are duplicated for the desk bracket and accordingly like reference numerals might be applied to the corresponding setr of elements used in connection therewith. These adjusting parts are furthermore interchangeable such that either set may be used for the operation of the other bracket. In addition, either bracket may be changed around to occupy the position. of the other, since the pedestal formation is duplicated on both its front and rear sides.

In the raising and lowering movements of the two brackets, it will be noted that each is independent of the other. A plus and minus adjustment is provided for, how-` ever, due to thesloping character of the front and rear walls of the pedestal, so that as the seat is raised, it is also moved rearwardly. In like manner the desk is moved forwardly as it is raised. With an opposite adjustment of the two brackets, a reversal in these lateral movements is obtained. These changes in adjustment may be effected conveniently, with the aid of a socket wrench, and the parts to be manipulated are suliiciently accessible to not require any change in position of the occupants. In ad dition the furniture article of this invention may be adjusted through a range suficient to adapt the structure to persons of various sizes, and for accommodating persons of allv ages only two sizes of the article will ordinarily be necessary.

A combined seat and desk of the kind described may be produced at a reasonable cost. In appearance it is attractive and the few places where dust, etc., may accumulate are easily reached for cleaning so that the article is advantageous from a sanitary standpoint as well.

I claim:

1. In a furniture article of the kind described, the combination of a standard having a vertically slotted wall, a .bracket formed to rest against said wall, an apertured nut having a head adapted to engage the rear side of said wall, a bolt connecting the bracket with the nut, a rack mounted on the standard and extending through the nut aperture, and a worm device rotably mounted on the bracket adapted to Vengage with the rack in a manner to move the bracket vertically, substantially as described. Y'

2. In a furniture article of the kind described, the combination of a standard having a vertically slotted wall, a bracket mounted to move vertically upon the standard wall, an apertured nut slidably secured to the standard, a bolt connecting the nut with the bracket a rack bar extending l through the nut aperture and having a mounting on the standard, and a worm detatable worm carried on the bracket in operative relation to the rack, the worm having an operating portion exposed for manipulation, substantially as described.

et. In a furniture article of the kind described, the combination of a standard having a vertically slotted wall, a bracket adapted for adjustable mounting thereupon, a connection between the bracket and standard comprising a nut having arms extended in spaced relation rearwardly through the n slot and a head bearing against the inner side of the standard wall, and a bolt engaging'with the bracket and connected by screw threads to the nut, a rack bar positioned upon the standard walls parallel with the slot therein and intermediately of the arms of the nut, and a roatable member'removably carried by the bracket having a worm device in engagement with the rack bar for raising and lowering the bracket upon the standard, substantially as described.

GEORGE H. ABBOTT. 

